Menu

Category Archives: Vegetarian Entree

I was ‘iffy’ about trying these but it seemed easy enough. At least it was labeled ‘quick and easy’ by the creator of this recipe (more comments about this later). And for some reason I couldn’t recall trying falafel in the past and loving it. So why I chose to do this. . .no clue. The recipe calls for using your food processor which I rarely use so maybe this added to the already existing ‘unfamiliar’ feeling. Well, here goes:

1/4 c plain dry breadcrumbs

1/4 c fresh flat leaf parsely leaves

2 tbsp chopped green onion

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp salt

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

1 lg egg

1 chopped garlic clove

pinch of ground red pepper

1/4 cup shredded seeded peeled cucumber

1/3 c plain 2% fat free Greek yogurt (I love Fage)

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

2-6in pitas, whole wheat, cut in half

4 Bibb or mixed lettuce leaves

tomato slices

1. Combine first 10 ingredients in your food processor and process until finely chopped. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and shape each into a 1/2 thick patty. Heat your skillet over med-high heat. Coat with spray and cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned (I’d say almost 5 mins).

2. Combine cucumber and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Assemble your pita and top each patty with a bout 1 tbsp cucumber mixture. Makes 4 servings.

. . .served with couscous :9

It turned out very well but I think the prep was more time-consuming than I expected (or maybe it was the mood I was in that day, who knows). I don’t think I would have changed anything but I’m not sure I would make it again. (Sigh)

It was time to do brunch again and I really wanted to do something different. ZenChef inspired me as he has used Gruyere in tarts before. If you like to branch out in your cheeses Gruyere is also wonderful as a dessert cheese and melts well for sauces and fondues (just a side note if you didn’t know this already!). So here you are. . .

Unless you tell, no one will ever be able to tell that the tofu provides the creaminess in this dish!

You will need:

18 dried jumbo shells

8 0z frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dried

2 tbsp green onion (green and white parts)

1 tsp bottled minced garlic

14 oz soft silken reduced fat tofu, drained

1 c loosely packed fresh basil, stems removed and chopped

whites of 2 large eggs or egg substitute equal to one egg or 1 large egg

2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

pepper to taste

1.5 c tomato based meatless pasta sauce

12 oz no salt added tomato sauce

2 more tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Cook shells according to package directions and carefully rinse in cool water. Heat a large skillet over med heat, remove from heat and then spray down. Cook spinach, green onion and garlic until all liquid has evaporated and spinach is heated through. Put in a large bowl. Crumble tofu into spinach and mash/combine well. Stir in basil.

2. In a small bowl which egg whites and add parmesan cheese, nutmeg, pepper and stir this into spinach mixture.

***I would have put in a tad bit more garlic and if you wanted something “heavier” you can use a meat based sauce as well. Regardless, this was perfect paired with salad and don’t forget garlic bread if you want the whole “complete” Italian deal (refer to Van’s Truly Kick-Ass garlic bread!).

5) Mix the Feta cheese and bread crumbs together, sprinkle over the spinach mix on the eggplant and bake for 25 minutes

While the eggplant was in the oven I quickly whipped up some dill rice.

2 cups of white rice

2 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of freshly cut dill

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

This is quite easy to do, just…

1) Bring the chicken broth to a boil

2) Add rice and lemon juice, stir

3) Add dill, stir

4) Cover and cook over low heat until rice is at your desired tenderness

Eggplant steak goodness!

OH WOW. This is the second vegetarian dish in two weeks that has really, really impressed me. The eggplant didn’t have the flavor or texture I expected, and the “stuff” complimented the aftertaste of the fruit. And the dill rice tied everything together… I mean, come on, it’s dill rice!

Also, the spinach/tomato mix could be used for so many things…Actually, it could seem some variant of this being for a pita or chip “dip”… maybe even for stuffed mushrooms.

In the end I capped the entire meal off with a slice of the Cinnamon and Brown Sugar cake and I was in heaven.

All and all a good turnout for a “let’s throw something together” dish.

I am obviously on a cooking kick because right now I have too much to share. I made this dish this afternoon for lunch and dinner (since I work evenings) and am very well pleased with the results! If you like Mexican food here’s a way for you to do it yourself.

1. Preheat oven to 425. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in the oven for 5 mins.

2. For the filling, coat an unheated large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 min or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add black beans. Using a fork or potato masher,mash beans slightly. Stir in corn, tomatoes, and 1/2 c salsa. Heat through and stir in cilantro.

3. For assembly, spoon about 1/3 cup filling into each tortilla just below its center. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla up and over filling. Fold opposite sides in and over filling. Roll up from the bottom and if necessary secure edges with toothpicks. Place filled tortillas on prepared baking sheet with seam sides down. Coat top and sides of the filled tortillas with cooking spray.

4. Bake for 10-12 mins or until tortillas are golden brown and crisp. To serve, sprinkle with cheese and top with remaining salsa. Makes 6 servings.

***Take note: working with whole wheat tortillas (as this is a low calorie recipe) is a bit more cumbersome in comparison to flour or corn tortillas. If you have a few chimis that are not going to hold a perfect burrito-like shape before you put them in the oven (like I did) do not worry. Once they are baked, they are crispy and will pretty much hold until you put the salsa on top which softens it up again. Also, as you saw in the ingredient list I went with a tomatillo verde sauce (I prefers this over reds) and this was very spicy. Just know that when you choose a ‘level’ of spiciness of the salsa it will go in and outside the chimichanga. Lastly, I had enough of the filling to make an extra chimi. I do not know why this is as I followed the recipe exactly. You can also go with larger-sized tortillas if you want to stuff more filling in each. These chimis came out to be about a 1/3 of the size of restaurants (which are ginormous) – perfect for pairing with rice or salad!

Oh… the Tuesday evening dinner was simply amazing. I made a Tomato and Olive Stuffed Portobello Mushroom dish with a green salad side. I started by researching a number of recipes and landed on this recipe, so let me share the joy.

Tomato and Olive Stuffed Portobello

2/3 cup chopped plum tomatoes

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1/8 teaspoon dried

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 portobello mushroom caps, 5 inches wide

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons soy sauce

This recipe calls for the mushrooms to be grilled, I however went for the oven.

Remove brown gills from the undersides of the caps using a spoon; discard gills. (yes, didn’t eat the gills)

Mix the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, lemon juice and soy sauce in a small bowl.

Brush the mixture over both sides of the caps.

Line cookie pan with foil, grease to prevent sticking (I used Pam)

Bake for 25 mins

I wanted a nice side salad for this dish – nothing too complicated – so I created a Sherry Vinaigrette.

Having no clue how to make a dressing, I kinda just went out on my own and got creative using a recent dish I had at a local place as a starting point. While they were not keen to give out the recipe, the tastes were very easy to pick out.

Green Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoons freshly ground peppercorn

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Blend the vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and black pepper in a blender and slowly add your oil. Boom – there you go!

For the salad you’ll need (well, you can do what you wish…but this a good starting point).

fresh baby romaine

1 chayote

1 carrot

feta cheese

Cut your chayote into thin slices, shave your carrot and add into the the baby romaine. Toss with some of your newly created dressing, add the feta cheese and toss once again.

Holy god was this dish amazing.

This was perfect mix of flavor in the mushrooms and the sherry vinegar in the salad dressing. A meal to be had by all!

I like to experiment with everything and the day has come to experiment with hemp seed. I’ve used hemp protein powder for quite a while now and I’ve been fascinated with hemp in general for a long time. It’s an incredible versatile plant and the hulled seeds are delicious and nutritious. They even have all the essential amino acids just like meat and that makes them markedly different from other plant proteins.

Up until recently I’d only tried them in specialty shops and they were very expensive and roasted and flavored. Recently as I look for other forms of protein to try to limit my use of animals I bought a large 3 lb bag of raw hulled hemp seeds. They arrived in the mail and they are very very tiny and taste a wee bit like sunflower seeds. I like them plain just fine, but they are so tiny it’s not like eating other seeds or nuts. They would be yummy in a salad just nice and raw like that and I’ll be thinking about what else I might do with them now too.

Today, though I made a lentil/hemp loaf. I’ve made vegetarian nut loafs for my husband a number of times. Apparently they are popular in Britain and he grew up there. I’d never had or made one until I married him, and so the idea comes from the nut loaves I’ve made. They are essentially a vegetarian variant on meat loaf.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked lentils

1 cup hemp seeds

3/4 cup pecorino cheese

3/4 cup oats soaked in plain kefir for a couple of hours (enough kefir to just cover the oats — you can use milk too)

1 large onion diced

5 cloves garlic

1/2 cup pesto

4 eggs

1 tbls red chili flakes

Salt to taste

Saute onions and garlic and then combine all the above ingredients and mix well. Put into a loaf pan or small casserole dish. I don’t currently have a loaf pan so I’ve been using a small casserole dish for my loafs, meat or veggie. I have to get a loaf pan!

So I wrote the above while the loaf was cooking. I, again, failed to notice how long it took but it simply ended nice and golden brown like the picture and the texture was nice too. Not heavy or wet or anything. I was not initially thrilled with the taste. My husband’s comment was, “It tastes like nut loaf.” I topped mine with some hot sauce and by the time I was finished eating my piece I was thoroughly enjoying it! I suppose if I make it again and I imagine I will, I will put more thought into spicing it up somehow, but really it wasn’t bad at all and I will enjoy the leftovers.

Well, this has grown on me. I thought leftovers would be tomorrow, but I had a second helping tonight. It’s good.